Keira Altman

Born: February 17, 1998

Home: Redding, California

Died: May 2, 2017, Car accident on I-5N

Appearance: Thick, dark brown, curly hair with dark sapphire blue eyes.

Why do you think you were chosen to join the Legion?

It’s hard to say. I mean, Elliott told me that the redoing usually chooses a time and place when chaos is converging. But it seems so peaceful here. Seriously, nothing ever happens. It’s hard to imagine but I guess I’ll just have to take it on faith. I mean there has to be a reason, right? These things don’t just happen.

Why did you want to become a doctor?

I’ve known I wanted to be a doctor ever since Stacy Carmichael broke her arm in gym class in the 7th grade. All the other girls were screaming and she just sat there staring at it, too surprised to cry or anything. So I yelled at one of the boys to go get the teacher and I helped her hold it steady and kept her calm until the ambulance got there. That’s when I knew.

How do you really feel about Danny?

Oof, gosh I don’t know. Danny’s so sweet and basically the best friend I have here. I’m still just reeling with everything that’s happened since I arrived. It’s honestly hard to think about much else. But I don’t know . . . maybe someday. I don’t know, next question please!

Danny O’Leary

Born: May 17, 1923

Home: South Boston, Massachusetts

Died: July 7, 1944, while freeing the small village of Saint-Jean-de-Daye from German occupation.

What’s going on with you and Keira?

It’s so hard. I feel like I know her so well. I’ve been seeing pieces of her life for the past year, her struggles, her victories, everything. She’s just this incredible person who’s been through so much and still manages to be this joyful, optimistic person. But she’s just met me and has no clue who I am. So I just have to . . . dial it back. And that’s been really hard.

Did you leave behind anyone special in your old life? A wife? A girlfriend?

Haha, nope. I mean there was this one girl, used to come into my Uncle’s grocery. We went out for sodas once or twice, but then my unit got our orders. I mean I knew a lot of guys who made quick work of it, getting engaged or married so they’d have someone to come home to. But that was never for me. And after everything . . . well I’m just glad I didn’t make a widow out of some young girl.

If you hadn’t joined the Army, what would you have wanted to do in life?

Gosh, you mean if I could do anything? I think I’d have been a writer. Crazy I know, High School dropout and all. But if I hadn’t had my Mam and sisters to take care of, then I like to think I’d have gone back some day. Reality though? I’d have taken over my Uncle’s grocery, and worked there till I dropped dead. I just hope my Army benefits were enough to take care of ’em – my mam and sisters. I think about them sometimes, a lot actually.

Nazor Onodugo

Born: November 22, 1939

Home: Enugu, Republic of Biafra (Modern Day Nigeria)

Died: September 30, 1968

What’s your weapon of choice?

I’ve always been taken by the heavy steel of my longsword, Ebibi Obi – Heart Slayer. I bought her off a Tramor who owed me a debt long ago and she has never failed me.

What was it like to first wield pneuma?

Wielding pneuma was like feeling my toes slip beneath the sand as waves lap higher and higher up your legs. It is at once, soothing and yet also terrifying in its power. It has come to infuse everything I do – every swing of the sword or chafe of leather on skin. It is as much a part of me as breathing.

Tell me about your daughter?

I called her Onyeka because she was my greatest achievement. She brought the stars down around her with every breath and her laughter set the birds to song. She was also stubborn as an ass and with fury born of a lioness. But she was mine, and there will never be another like her.

How did you meet her father?

I think that is enough questions for today. I’ll see you in the training field Oyinbo . . .

Elliott Hughes

Born: February 11, 1848

Home: Reading, UK

Died: March 1, 1877

If you don’t age, do you still get sick? Why do you think that is?

What an interesting question! I won’t deny that I’ve often found myself thinking on the very same thing. From what I’ve gathered speaking with my colleagues in Port Galaén, the aging process as we experienced it on Earth is fundamentally distinct from the ways that many sicknesses occur. While of course the illnesses of old age that are borne of the wearing down of our bodies don’t affect us, infectious disease is certainly a reality as I can attest from the cough I had last week!

What’s one thing you miss the most about your old life?

Ahh, that is a difficult question. There is so much about my life back in Oxford that I miss, friends, colleagues, the smell of a lovely pint down at the Turf, but perhaps what I miss most is the science. I’ve done my best to continue my studies across my lives but it is always a challenge without that shared community of likeminded investigators, passionately pursuing some unknown entity. There really is nothing like it.

How fast does technology progress in this world?

Another fascinating question! In the centuries I’ve spent in Loren, I can attest to the fact that change here is quite slow. In fact the sword I wielded in the Tramorian uprisings is virtually identical to the one I carry today. That said, particularly in areas such as agriculture and metallurgy we’ve seen considerable advancements! With the new and improved multi-axel plow, a field that took a pleasant two weeks to plow, can now be done in half that time! This has had serious implications for relations between uplanders and downlanders let me tell you . . . Now whether our continued presence serves to accelerate that process remains to be seen!